1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to food packaging systems and in particular to packaging of food products such as an uncooked deep dish pizza product in which either frozen or non-frozen uncooked pizza ingredients are carried within a semi-rigid pan.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention relates to packaging for uncooked pizza food products and especially deep dish pizzas. Relatively thin pizzas are available in frozen form and are provided to the consumer in different stages of preparedness, but generally require some amount of baking time before they can be eaten. Uncooked pizzas are provided in either fully prepared form or can be provided as an assemblage of ingredients, as shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,747,084. When provided in an uncooked but fully prepared form, deep dish pizzas present certain challenges to a manufacturer, to ensure that the consumer will be able to enjoy a well prepared pizza without requiring inconvenient or complex cooking procedures with which the consumer may not be familiar. Further, it is desirable that the consumer be required only to unwrap the pizza and place it in a heated oven for a set period of time.
As mentioned above, uncooked pizzas may be presented to the consumer in either frozen or unfrozen form. Obviously, different types of food storage equipment must be provided by the food store for accommodating both types of pizza packages. Frozen pizzas may be stored in an open top freezer or in an enclosed freezer chest, while the non-frozen refrigerated pizza product may be stored in a refrigerated cabinet. In order to provide added value to a food store, food manufacturers have packaged their products as stand-alone attractive self-display advertising units. For example, the package for an uncooked pizza may feature a colorful photograph of the finished, baked pizza, which would attract the consumer's interest.